A study of the behavior of shell footings using finite element analysis

Abstract EN

In this research, the conical shell foundation is investigated.

The two components of the interacting system ; the soil and the shell foundation, are modeled using the finite element method.

In this study, 15-node isoperimetric triangular axisymmetric elements with two degrees of freedom at each node are used to model the shell and soil.

The soil structure interaction between the footing and the supporting medium are modelled using interface elements.

Comparison between the results obtained by the present analysis and those obtained by other investigations are made.

The present analysis shows satisfactory results when compared with those obtained by other studies with largest percentage difference of 14 % in the value of the ultimate load.

Parametric studies have been carried out to investigate the effect of some important parameters on the behavior of shell foundations.

Three parameters are considered which are : semi-vertical angle, footing embedment and edge beam.